U2F is an acronym for Universal 2nd factor which is an open authentication standard meant to make second factor authentication easier and more secure for us consumers. However, it does make me feel more secure, and I am glad I got one. I guess the geek in me got too excited and wanted to learn about the technology by using it. These are questions I asked myself, after I went ahead and purchased the key.

What is U2F, and should I get a security key? Since then I’ve learnt that there is an even a more secure way to stop those up-to-no-good-hackers: The U2F security key.

To avoid this, I enabled the second factor authentication on my gmail account. Your PayPal, Facebook and Twitter could all be reset within minutes locking you out and making reclaiming them an absolute nightmare. Second, the browser sends the code directly to the website, so an attacker sitting in between can’t capture the temporary two-factor code and enter it on the real website to gain access to your account.Have your gmail hacked and it’s very likely that you’ll also loose access to your other accounts as well. First, the browser checks to ensure it’s communicating with the real website using encryption, so users won’t be tricked into entering their two-factor codes into fake phishing websites.

When you insert it into your computer’s USB port or tap it against your phone, the browser on your computer can communicate with the USB security key using secure encryption technology and provide the correct response that lets you log into a website.īecause this runs as part of the browser itself, this gives you some nice security improvements over typical two-factor authentication. It’s based on existing “smart card” security technology. Some of them have NFC support so they can be used with Android phones. Currently, U2F devices are usually small USB devices that you insert in your computer’s USB port.

Gmail u2f